Three Ravens Restaurant Banff: Fun NYE’s and Great GF food

Recently I was itching to get out of the city and into the mountains for a relaxing and re-energizing vacation. Plus I love being out of the city for new year’s eve. Most of my friends were booked but luckily I had a very good friend who was in the same boat as me and wanted to get out of town as well. Since we booked our hotel relatively last minute, and there wasn’t much choice, I was worried about reservations for NYE. Well luckily on Open Table I found a reso at Three Raven’s in Banff. Up until a year ago I had no idea this restaurant even existed but a colleague had taken me there when we were in Banff for work. Since I had been, I knew the food was awesome.

That day my friend and I went skiing, came back to town and got dressed up to ring in the NYE. We stayed on the main drag at The Fox, which I love because of their amazing hot tub. The hot tub feels like you are in a cave but has an open roof so it feels like an outdoor hot tub. Staying downtown, I was worried about getting a cab to Tunnel Mountain, but in true Banff fashion, a cab arrived within 5 minutes of calling… so much better than Calgary cabs. We hopped in and went up Tunnel Mountain to Three Ravens which is located at the Banff Center. This restaurant is a hidden gem that not many people know about because it’s in a location that is off the beaten path a bit. The Banff Center is a beautifully designed collection of buildings that hosts concerts, conferences and has year round classes. The restaurant is on the top floor of an all glass building that boosts an amazing view of banff and the mountains.

Photo from Up Magazine. Three Ravens Interior

We arrived and wanted a window seat so decided to sit at the bar and have a cocktail while waiting for a different table. After 20 minutes we were seated by very friendly staff and sipped our cocktail while admiring a spectacular view. Sorry for no picture but it was dark and the picture didn’t show up through the glass.

We ordered and out came warm regular bread for my friend and toasted, soft gluten free bread for me as well as 4 different types of butter which were all delicious. My favorite was the hazelnut butter, reminded me of Ferrero Rocher in a weird kind of way.

Gluten free bread and butters

Next we were served an amuse bouche that I have to be honest, was the biggest dissapointment of the meal. It was a small centimeter square of panana cotta, but unfortunately it was so rubbery that if felt sick in your mouth. This was just a small blip in an almost perfect night so don’t let the amuse bouche sway you away.

For my main course, I had the chicken which was crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside and was served with delicious crispy kale and root vegetables. My friend had the steak which he said was delicious as well.

There was a flourless chocolate cake option for dessert, but I opted for another glass of wine…hey it was NYE after all.

After dinner we grabbed a cab back to town to hit main street as they close the road to traffic and have a beautiful fireworks show at midnight. In hindsight though I bet it would be cool to watch the fireworks from Three Ravens if it was cold. NYE was quite warm so it was lovely being with a fun crowd celebrating together.

Hot Chocolate after the fireworks at The Fox

All in all, I would recommend Banff for NYE’s as it was relaxing, awesome to be on the ski hill, great dinner and an awesome show to top off the night. If you are looking for a great hotel, I loved The Fox because of the location and hot tub as well as great service. Note though, breakfast is included in your stay but there weren’t any GF options as it was a buffet. Take your own oatmeal for the room.

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About Me

I am foodie who loves to go out and eat delicious food. After finding out I was celiac, my eating habits changed drastically and restaurant meals included a lot of chicken and salad. Boring. My mission became finding the best gluten free options in Calgary and cities I travel to for work. Now I want to share my years of detective work and build a gluten free community in Calgary

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